Photocatalytic activity of hydrophobized mesoporous thin films of TiO₂

Organized mesoporous thin films of titanium dioxide with highly stable hydrophobicity of the film surface were prepared using triblock copolymer species (Pluronic P123) as the structure directing agent, the dip-coating technique and post-synthesis hydrophobization. Due to favorable texture properties of the mesoporous TiO₂ films, they exhibit higher photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of methylene blue than classic TiO₂ films prepared from colloidal solutions. While the hydrophobized films exhibit only slightly larger efficiency than untreated ones in the degradation of hydrophilic methylene blue, for more hydrophobic thionine the beneficial effect of the surface modification is much more pronounced.